If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen

It is quite apparent that Dr. Arkle is quick to make sarcastic innuendos about me personally via letters to the media with comments like: “Misrepresentations postulated as if they were some sort of scholarly endeavor; Let us stop floundering in misrepresented compilations of selected raw fairy dust presented by those who would mask themselves in scholarly effort or pretend to know more than anyone else,” but when a rebuttal is presented to refute the validity of his unjustifiable accusations, he rants and raves and proclaims that my retort to those accusations are provocations and insults.

In Dr. Arkle’s last letter to the media, his comment, “Dr. Camacho’s slash and burn commentaries are a defamation hurled at the CNMI and its people from one who clearly has no comprehension of present day island conditions, or the people who live and work here” is pure poppycock simply because I have never submitted any letter that defamed the whole of the CNMI and its people. I have been critical of individuals, e.g., Kenneth Wright, Juan N. Babauta, and those who have willingly attacked me on a personal level via letters to the media, but never the island community as a whole. To make an unfounded statement that does not reflect the actual truth about my writings is unwarranted, extremely unprofessional, not to mention rather presumptuous.

A major problem that Dr. Arkle has is that he is incapable of having a professional debate without being condescending to the party who presents an argument that refutes his claims. For example, the absurd blanket statement that it was a “public lie” about the documentation regarding Azmar for the lease on Pagan has yet to be substantiated. It is naïve for Dr. Arkle to expect people of the island community to be receptive and concede to that statement without providing any rationale to substantiate it.

A double standard is clearly what Dr. Arkle espouses. He seems to think that he can lash out with disparaging comments via letters to the media, but is critical of anyone that responds to those comments with a rational defense. If he does not care about getting hit with any stones, then he should cease and desist throwing them.

Moreover, Dr. Arkle’s analogy of a child throwing a temper tantrum appears to be an analysis of himself. And since he is clearly unable to handle any type of heat, then he should promptly remove himself from the kitchen.

Presumably, Dr. Arkle has complete understanding of what a “defense” is from the experience of defending his dissertation before his doctoral committee. Thus, there is an expectation that he is capable of not only handling dissenting opinions raised on something like a dissertation study and/or a particular issue, but to do so with a professional demeanor and approach and not with any scathing commentary because it is an affront to the individual that presented the refutation and does not address the issue at hand.

And lastly Dr. Arkle, let us ask the media if they would take under advisement a poll to ascertain if the island community is on the same page as you are in terms of the discussions I have submitted vis-à-vis articles and letters to the media. If by chance the numbers reflect you are wrong, will you come unglued or go off half-cocked because of the results?

Dr. Jesus D. Camacho
Delano, California